Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel paying visit to Cleveland Browns

By
Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Johnny Manziel is making his visit to Berea on April 23 and 24 and not for the last time, if NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper is correct.
The Browns by now have studied every frame of tape of every game Manziel has ever played. The visit is Manziel’s chance to sell himself to the Browns and convince them he won’t be the party animal he became at Texas A&M.
“I’m an extremely coachable kid and I’m ready to learn,” Manziel said on NFL Network after his pro day on March 27. “I just want these guys to know my focus is football. This is my life. This is what I love to do. I’ve never been more committed, more dedicated in my entire life.”
Kiper has the Browns taking Manziel with the fourth pick in his latest mock draft. The Brown put Manziel through a private workout on April 19 in College Station, Texas.
“Manziel is not my top-rated QB, but he is the QB I believe (right now) is likeliest to go this high, as I believe a team like Cleveland, with a number of draft assets and a QB on the roster it feels can create a bridge to a young starter, is in a good scenario to take a chance on Manziel’s ceiling,” Kiper wrote on April 17.
Kiper rates Manziel 18th overall among the players available in the 2014 draft. He ranks Manziel behind Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville (16) and Blake Bortles of Central Florida (18). Bridgewater visited the Browns on April 21. Bortles was in Berea a day later. Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron was also in on April 22. The Browns worked out each of the prospects privately.
Unlike in 2012 when Andrew Luck was clearly the best quarterback in the draft, analysts cannot agree on which is the top quarterback in this draft.
Todd McShay of ESPN ranks Bortles ninth among all players in the draft and first among quarterbacks. He has Bridgewater 15th and Manziel 16th.
Mike Mayock of NFL Network ranks them Manziel, Bortles and Bridgewater and NFLDRaftScout.com ranks them Bortles, Manziel and Bridgewater.
Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com also has the Browns taking Manziel with the fourth pick, although his is not a ringing endorsement.
“Veteran Brian Hoyer is a serviceable quarterback but he, like virtually every other quarterback the Browns have trotted out since Bernie Kosar, lacks the star power to turn around this rudderless franchise,” Rang wrote. “Do I have questions about Manziel’s ability to hold up in the ultra-physical AFC North, especially at gusty and grassy FirstEnergy Stadium? Sure, but waiting to see which quarterback may fall to No. 26 (or lower) could mean more of the same for a long-suffering fan base. If he is not chosen here, Manziel could be in for quite a slide.”
Manziel will not be the last quarterback visiting Berea. Derek Carr of Fresno State is visiting on April 24, according to several reports.